


(It's Like) You Never Had Wings

by shrugheadjonesthethird



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: American Sign Language, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Coping Mechanisms, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hard Betty, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Violence, Minor Character Death, Northside Jughead Jones, Soft Jug, Southside Serpent Betty Cooper, Strangers to Friends, Why do I always do this to Betty?, alice cooper ran the serpents, betty's dad was in the military, friends to feelings, jughead is a model student, mentions of canon self-harm, the Jones' aren't serpents, they both caught feelings, transfering schools
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-08-02 16:43:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16308902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shrugheadjonesthethird/pseuds/shrugheadjonesthethird
Summary: With new students transferring to Riverdale High, Jughead establishes a committee to welcome them. He comes face to face with Betty Cooper, Southside Royalty. He didn't expect it to go well, and he certainly didn't expect a friendship to blossom.





	(It's Like) You Never Had Wings

**Author's Note:**

> So, I wrote this angsty nugget a while back, but now it's finally beta'd and titled and done and it is ready to be released into the AO3 wild. 
> 
> Title comes from Change (in the House of Flies) by Deftones.
> 
> To my lovely beta’s, Lyss (breathewords/bettscoopr, Mari (aquamarinara/writeraquamarinara), and my dearest love, Evie, (cactievie/cacti-evie). You guys are wonderful and this would not be what it is without you! <3

_ “At times the world may seem an unfriendly and sinister place, but believe that there is much more good in it than bad. All you have to do is look hard enough. And what might seem to be a series of unfortunate events may in fact be the first steps of a journey.” - Lemony Snicket _

\------

Welcoming day was upon the students of Riverdale High. Southside High had closed its doors for the last time. All students from Southside High were being dispersed to the other district schools in the area, including Riverdale High, and there was great protest to the rough and tumble Southsiders coming to the always prim and proper Northside. 

“Jughead Jones: honor roll student; editor, writer, _and_ photographer for the Blue and Gold; yearbook committee; afterschool tutor; overall great human being. Now you’ve organized a tour for the new kids?” Archie droned. “You’re an overachiever, Jug. Y’know that, right? Where do you find the time? Do you even sleep?” 

As Archie laughed at his best friend, Jughead adjusted the collar of his Riverdale High polo shirt and took a sip of his coffee. 

“Archie, it’s fine. It’ll be great. There are only four coming. We each get one for the first week to make sure they get acclimated. We want to make sure they feel welcome here. Archie, you’ve got Fogarty; Ronnie, Topaz; Trev, you take DeSantos; and I’ll take Cooper.” 

He handed them each a large manila envelope with their assigned student’s name. It contained their schedule, locker combination, and a welcoming packet, complete with information about services offered and extra curricular activities. Jughead was not against the melding of the schools. Quite the opposite. Instead, he saw it as a new opportunity for him to help someone.

“Thanks again for helping me with this, guys. I really do appreciate it,” he said, checking his watch and taking another sip from his coffee cup. “They should be here any minute.”

The Southside students came in as a silhouette. Two boys stood very tall in the back, with two notably shorter girls to either side. The sunshine streaming through the wide open doors was bright against the fluorescent bulbs in the hallway, and Jughead blinked at the influx of light. The group walked slowly toward the table, looking around as they did. Kids were scattering in fear of the foursome. They fanned out along the table that Jughead had set up. Veronica’s eyes widened at the sight of four young, presumed Serpents up close. Jughead could sense Veronica’s hesitation. 

“It’ll be fine, Ronnie,” Jughead said it in hopes he believed himself. He didn’t know any Serpents personally, had never been face to face with one. He lived his life obediently on the Northside of Riverdale, as his parents raised him and his younger sister, Jellybean, to do. The foursome stood there, looking rather annoyed that they needed to interact with anyone but each other.

“Welcome to Riverdale High. My name is Veronica Lodge, this is Archie Andrews, Trev Brown and our fearless leader, Jughead Jones.” Veronica smiled brightly, pointing out each person as she rattled off their names. Jughead glanced at her sideways before his gaze fell upon Riverdale High’s newest students. The two boys were about his height, their skin naturally tan, and their shoulders leather-clad. One had dark hair sweeping in front of his eyes (similar to his own), while the other was more put together, looking slightly cleaner. The smallest girl had pink hair and a permanent scowl on her face. She stood impatiently, tapping her heeled combat boot. Finally, there was  _ her _ .

“I’m Fangs, this is Joaquin, Toni and  _ our _ fearless leader, Coop,” Fangs uttered mockingly, careful not to reveal more than he needed to. Jughead stared at the blonde intently. Something about her struck him like lightning. 

“Uh, great! Well, we set up a tour for each of you, specific to your new schedule based on your transcripts from Southside.” Jughead swallowed nervously. The blonde, now known only as “Coop,” hadn’t stopped glaring at him. She chewed her gum lazily, hands settled in the pockets of her leather jacket. Her blonde hair tousled seemingly effortless against her shoulders, dark eyeliner making her green eyes bright. There was a glint behind her glare, but it was indecipherable.

“Fogarty. That’s you, right?” Archie pointed at Fangs. “You’re with me.” Archie tapped the envelope against his palm and crossed the room to stand next to Fangs.

“Topaz.” Veronica followed Archie’s lead. “ _ Love _ your shoes, by the way.” Toni smiled apprehensively at Veronica.

“Thanks,” she said flatly, looking Veronica up and down. She was perfectly put together, not a hair out of place. Toni rolled her eyes at the stark contrast between her ripped jeans,tank top and Serpent jacket and Veronica’s plaid skirt and perfectly tailored blouse. 

“Joaquin,” Trev said. With that, the three pairs began their tours. Jughead remained behind the table. He did not plan for this pairing.

“Guess that leaves me,” Betty said, speaking for the first time since she first approached the table. Her voice was gruff without meaning to be.

“Yeah, Cooper, right?” Jughead asked, already knowing full well the answer to the question.

“Betty,” she said, softer than before. The change in her voice was subtle, but did not go unnoticed.

“Betty,” Jughead repeated. 

He finally came from behind the table, envelope in hand. He looked Betty up and down as she glanced around the hallway. Her long legs were covered with tight black jeans, a low cut aubergine shirt tucked into them. Her upper body was covered with black leather that fell to her waist, the lapels littered with enamel pins. He couldn’t tell what they were without staring at her chest. Betty turned her back to him, reading one of the posters on the wall. The infamous serpent patch on the back of her jacket, slightly different than the others, stared at him with yellow eyes. Jughead felt his mouth dry out. He tried to swallow his apprehension before she turned back around. 

“Ready to start your tour?” Jughead motioned the envelope toward Betty. She raised her eyebrow at him and snatched it out of his hand before opening it slowly. She looked down at her schedule as they began to walk around, Jughead pointing out various classrooms the school clubs each met in. 

“Does it look like I’m an extra curriculars kind of gal?” she joked, pinching her gum between her front teeth. Jughead wasn’t sure if he was supposed to answer the question or not.

“Why not? Everyone has something they like to do. Something they enjoy, even if its only for themselves.” 

He shrugged. Betty was not expecting that response. She wasn’t expecting him to be nice to her. Betty knew how everyone on the north side of town viewed her and her fellow Serpents. It was refreshing to be seen as a student, a  _ person _ , first and a Serpent second. “Well, this is your locker. The combination is written on one of the pages in there.” She successfully opened the locker and threw her backpack in it. 

Jughead noticed the old cognac leather bag she carried. It was weathered, like it was well travelled, well loved. “I like your backpack,” he complimented. Betty looked up at him in surprise.

“Thanks, it was my dad’s. He got it overseas on one of his tours with the army. He gave it to me before he got deployed again.” Betty wasn’t sure what had compelled her to tell him that. They’d only known each other for fifteen minutes. She wasn’t one to divulge her life story to strangers, but it seemed she’d be making an acception for Jughead Jones. The look on her face was one of shock, mostly at herself. 

“Oh.” Jughead wasn’t sure what to say. She peeled off her leather jacket and hung it on the hook in the back of the locker. She took one of the three ties on her wrist and tied her hair up in a messy ponytail, leaving a few wisps to frame her face. When she turned to close the locker door, Jughead spotted the tattoo he’d been subconsciously looking for at the nape of her neck. He swallowed nervously, having almost forgotten he was in the presence of a Serpent. 

“So, uh, looks like,” he started, peering at the schedule in her hand. She tugged it back from him, as if to hide it. “I have to show you where the classrooms are, Betty. Let me see it,” he said, his hand outstretched for the packet. She looked at him suspiciously, eventually handing over the paper. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and pursed his lips. He smiled to himself, not realizing she was watching him the entire time.

“Is there a problem?” Betty said, her voice hard again. She tried to snatch the paper from his hand, but he pulled it back. She was not amused.

“No problem, just didn’t realize we had more in common than I originally thought. AP lit, history,  _ and  _ psych. That’s impressive, Miss Cooper.”

“And why is that?”

“I just didn’t think that Southside High  _ offered _ AP classes.”

“It doesn’t-- didn’t. I went to the local college to take them. Just because I’m a Serpent doesn’t mean that I’m below average, Jones.” Her voice was soft again; she was suddenly self conscious of her academic achievements, or that someone even cared to notice.

“That’s not what I meant. I guess I don’t know what I meant. Sorry,” he apologized, his eyes now plastered to the floor. They continued to walk and he showed her the classrooms she’d be in everyday in addition to the cafeteria, gym, auditorium and other staples of the school. “So, you never actually said… what kind of extracurriculars would you want to participate in?” he asked. “No pressure,” he added quickly.

“Night stalking? Arson? General debauchery?” she joked. Betty noticed him tense up, not knowing what to do with himself. He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, picking at the lining. “Relax, Jones, I’m kidding.” He sighed in relief with a slight nervous chuckle. 

“Heh, but seriously, what does Betty Cooper love to do behind closed doors?” Jughead asked, not realizing the innuendo until after the words left his lips. His eyes went wide.

“You offering?” Betty laughed, raising a curious eyebrow. Jughead could feel the red flush his face to the tops of his ears.

“I really need to work on my word choice,” he muttered to himself, proverbially kicking himself for the comment. “Hobbies. I meant what are your hobbies.”

“Well, it seems now that you know way more about me than I do about you. How is that fair?” She leaned up against the wall, pressing the bottom of her foot against it. 

“You didn’t ask.”

“Well, I’m asking.” They continued to walk, making their way outside to the picnic tables.

“What do you want to know? I’m pretty much an open book.” There were things that Jughead kept to himself. His intrinsic problems with anxiety, the constant familial pressure, his aspirations for college; some things were to keep to himself. But he trusted Betty, and he wasn’t sure why.

“What’re your hobbies?” she quipped.

“I write, edit, and shoot photos for the school paper. Some other things here and there.” 

“You do that all by yourself?” Betty asked. “That seems like a lot.”

“It is. On top of a full honors and AP course load, part time work, and a few other things that take up my time, I don’t know how I haven’t collapsed from sleep deprivation yet.” 

Jughead laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Jesus, Jones. Who are you, Superman?”

“Far from it,” he started, but the rest of his sentence was drowned out by the ringing of the bell. He pointed her in the direction of her first class and she promptly disappeared from his life for a while, except, of course, academically.

**\--**

The first week for the Southside kids went as expected. After the first few days, they ditched their assigned peer mentors and did their own thing. Jughead knew it wouldn’t last. They seemed to have been adjusting well enough; Northside students were even warming up to them. 

In front of their peers, Betty put on her Serpent facade. She was tough, feared. She had a no nonsense attitude, but it wasn’t always that way. When she was alone, her guard was down. She had her own aspirations, troubles, fears, but to everyone else she was the fearless Serpent Princess. Over time, Jughead would learn this firsthand. Betty and Jughead shared a few classes, but didn’t talk all too much. She seemed to be keeping her distance from him. Jughead was confused-- he thought they had hit it off fairly well on that first day. He shrugged it off and continued in his routine of class, extracurriculars, work, barely enough sleep and consuming far more coffee than a teenager ever should.

A month later, Jughead was heading to the Blue and Gold office. He had to finish the article he was working on about the upcoming drama season. He had come from their rehearsal, camera in hand, notepad tucked under his arm. As he approached the office, he noticed the light on. He always kept it off when he wasn’t there. He ignored it, assuming the janitor was in there cleaning. He peered through the window in the door to see Betty sitting on the floor in front of the couch. 

She was hunched over her knees, shoulders shaking. He stood and watched her a moment when she abruptly stretched out her body, wiping her face. She tilted her head to either side, her arms outstretched in front of her before standing up carefully and dusting herself off. She checked herself in a small, compact mirror she pulled from her bag and gathered her things. Jughead backpedaled a few steps, so she wouldn’t see him staring at her. He approached the door again, casually, reaching for the knob as it turned and the door opened. Betty was looking down at the floor and didn’t notice Jughead. She shoulder checked him without intention.

“Watch where you… h, hey, Jones,” she said, sniffling and returning her gaze to the floor.

“What were you doing in the Blue and Gold office? And how did you get in? I keep it locked.” Jughead was mildly annoyed at the intrusion. It was his safe place, no one ever bothered him there. He’d spend hours in there working on the paper, or homework, or just unwinding when he needed a break from reality. He heard her continue to sniffle, but she was clearly attempting to hide it. “Hey. Are you okay?” he asked, dipping his head to meet her eyes.

She turned away. “Yeah, fine. Sorry for breaking and entering.” She forced a smile, but she didn’t mean it, and they both knew it.

“Would that fall under general debauchery or something else?” Jughead chuckled. She looked up at him, finally. He could see the red in her eyes, the swell of her cheek. Her smile this time was genuine, even if it was small. “Do you wanna talk about it?” 

She didn’t respond. She simply walked away.

Jughead attempted to let the interaction go, walking into the office to prepare his article. He uploaded the photos he’d taken to his laptop, but after an hour of looking over his notes, willing his fingers to write something brilliant, he found he was unable to focus. Accepting his defeat at the hands of writer's’ block, he pushed himself back from the desk and packed up his laptop, camera and other schoolwork to leave. He closed his eyes and sighed. All he could see was the pain in her usually bright eyes. He shook the thought from his head. 

\--

As the weeks progressed, he noticed she was often alone, not even with her fellow Serpents, who had joined clubs and were generally taking advantage of the services the Northside could provide that the Southside did not. 

There was a reprieve in the weather; the students could enjoy their lunches outside near the football field. Jocks would play pick up games of basketball at the nearby hoops, and Fangs and Joaquin playing two on two with Reggie and Archie became a normal occurrence. Veronica and Toni looked on as they cheered for their respective friends. It seems that the two girls were fast friends despite their clear differences. They were both forces to be reckoned with and they liked that about each other. 

Jughead made his way through the cafeteria on his way to join his friends near the basketball hoop. He looked around for somewhere to sit. On the far end of the field, sitting in the middle of the empty bleachers, he spotted Betty, alone again. Jughead held his lunch in his hand, making his way toward her. They had barely spoken since he saw her in the office, but not for lack of trying. Everytime he would attempt to talk to her, she was suddenly busy. She was quiet in class, quieter than normal, if she was there at all. Jughead was worried about her, but he wasn’t sure why.

As he approached, he saw the headphones around her ears. She sat with her legs crossed, her skirt high on her thighs, revealing her fishnet stockings. There was a flannel tied around her waist that had been on her shoulders earlier. The way the sun hit her golden blonde tresses was nearly angelic. Of course Jughead noticed these things; he had since the first day she stepped foot on campus. He stopped in his tracks as he saw her begin to move her hands. He watched her, entranced. He wasn’t entirely sure what she was doing, but it was beautiful. He took a few steps closer. She curled her hands delicately, melodically. He was beginning to recognize what she was doing.

She was signing. Last fall, Riverdale High had done a production of  _ The Miracle Worker _ . He wasn’t sure what she was saying, but he recognized it after a small while watching her. Admittedly, he felt slightly creepy for staring. Her gestures ended, and he watched as she flexed her hands into themselves fervently. She looked down at her palms, visibly frustrated with herself. Jughead approached cautiously. She began again, this time quicker, her facial expression hard, angry even. Based solely on her gestures, he guess whatever she was signing this time was more aggressive. When he got close enough, he could hear the music emanating from her headphones and realized she was signing the lyrics to a song. The heavy guitar riffs and percussion struck him. Her eyes were closed, like she was hyper-focused on the steady stream of music coming from her phone. 

He tapped her shoulder carefully, not intending to startle her, but he failed. She shot him a sideways glance. It was full of fire, but before long, it softened. She pulled the headphones off of her ears. “Yes?” Her voice was shaky. She cleared her throat when he didn’t answer. Jughead didn’t know what he was going to say. He looked down nervously and saw her hands in fists, knuckles white. When she noticed him looking, she was quick to release the tension in them and flatten her palms against her thighs. Jughead looked down at her, his eyebrows knitted together in a mixture of confusion and worry. “Do you want something, Jones?” she barked.

“I was just looking for somewhere to eat lunch. Sorry to bother you,” he said shyly. He started to walk past her when her hand jutted out and grabbed his wrist.

“You stay, I’ll go.” Her voice was quiet, almost embarrassed. 

“You don’t have to.” He said as he sat down. He placed his brown paper bag down next to him and angled himself toward her. “I know we’re not friends, and you don’t owe anyone anything, but is everything okay? You’ve been really quiet in class and I’ve noticed you’ve been by yourself  _ a lot _ lately.” He sighed. “I guess I’m just worried about you.”

“Why? Like you said, we’re not friends. I’m fine.” Her voice was dripping with pain. He could hear it, and so could she. She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. No one had ever said they were worried about her before. She was the Serpent Princess: headstrong, fearless. But there was more to her than that. She was alone and afraid.

“Fine, sorry for asking.” Jughead dismissed her, getting up and grabbing his lunch. She grabbed his wrist again.

“Not here. Blue and Gold after school,” Betty mumbled. He raised his eyebrow curiously, but didn’t turn around. 

“After school.”

The rest of the day dragged by painfully slow. Jughead and Betty sat through AP psychology, listening to their teacher drone on about Freud and his psychosexual stages and their corresponding age ranges. Jughead rolled his eyes at the review of previously-covered material.  _ Yeah, we get it. Next. _ It seemed like the class would never end the final bell for the day rang at last. Jughead pulled his messenger bag from his locker and made his way toward the office. He unlocked the door and flicked the lights on, throwing his bag onto the desk before opening his laptop. 

It wasn’t long before Betty knocked on the door and came in, closing it firmly behind her. She walked slowly toward the couch and slumped down, cradling her head in her hands. Jughead waited for her to speak first. He continued to type on his laptop for a while before he realized she was crying, the sharp inhale that sounded suspiciously like a sniffle giving her away. He closed his laptop and moved slowly to the couch. He sat on the opposite end, not wanting to crowd her. She looked over at him, tears streaming down her face. She still didn’t speak. She leaned down and placed her head into his lap, curling the rest of her body onto the couch. Jughead wasn’t entirely sure what to do, but he rubbed her shoulder in small circles for comfort. He didn’t know if he was helping or not, but it seemed like the right thing to do. 

After a while, her tears faded and her breathing evened out. She took another deep breath before she sat up and looked Jughead directly in the eyes. She was startled to see the emotion there. She was used to seeing fear in people’s eyes, but there was no sign of pity or anger with him, just compassion and concern. She took another deep breath. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“You have no reason to be sorry, Betty.” He placed his hand on her leg, concern still whirling in his eyes. 

Betty was beginning to realize that Jughead genuinely had her best interests at heart, that he truly cared. She wasn’t sure why. She also wasn’t sure where to begin. There was so much on her mind. 

“Why were you in here a fews weeks ago?” he asked softly, prompting her with a place to start.

She took another deep breath and leaned back into the couch. “I just needed somewhere quiet. Things have been worse than normal lately.” Her voice was small, purely sad.

Jughead didn’t say anything, not wanting to interrupt her thought process. He rubbed his thumb across the skin of her forearm. 

She smiled softly. It had been too long since she had any tactile comfort in her life. The last hug she’d had was before her father was deployed. “I got a call from my dad’s staff sergeant. He was injured in an explosion. He was critical and they didn’t think he was going to make it.” Tears began falling down her cheeks again. “He didn’t.” Jughead stopped his hand abruptly at the news. 

His heart ached for her. 

“They had some trouble getting the body back. Before they finally did, my mom went off the deep end and left.” The tears were falling more steadily now. Jughead wrapped his arms around her in a hug. He didn’t know what else to do.

“Betty, I’m so sorry.” He whispered into her hair. Tears were falling from his own eyes.

“I’ve never felt more lost in my life. I don’t know what I’m doing. When she left, they started prepping me to take over as their leader. It’s too much to juggle.” She clenched her fists behind Jughead’s back. “I don’t think I can do it anymore,” she whispered, her voice cracking almost inaudibly around another sob. 

Jughead pulled out of the hug, keeping his hands on her shoulders. Betty’s hands dropped to her lap, face up. He looked down, seeing the indentations in her palms. His heart dropped to his stomach at the sight. She attempted to pull them away, but to no avail. Jughead’s hands were on hers. His fingers traced the crescents; she drew a sharp breath. 

Her face reddened with embarrassment. She hung her head in shame. He wrapped her hands within his and kissed them gently and looked directly into her eyes. 

He was still at a loss for what to say. In front of Jughead sat Serpent royalty, but she was more than that. In that moment, she was in pain; she was broken, and all he wanted to do was fix her.

“They found her car in Swedlow Swamp a few days ago. She ran off the road. Toxicology report said she had drugs in her system.” Betty continued to pour her soul out to Jughead. “I can’t be the person that the Serpents  _ need  _ me to be. I’m not her. I just wanted to lay low until graduation, check in when I have to with the foster family -- not that they even care -- and get the hell out of here. I never  _ wanted _ to take over the Serpents, I never wanted to  _ be _ a serpent.” She took another deep breath. “I guess I don’t have a choice now.”

“Of course you do, Betty,” Jughead whispered. “There’s gotta be a way.”

“I’d be letting everyone down. Being a Serpent was the only thing that made my mother proud of me--not being a good student, not being a good  _ person _ \--being a Serpent. If I gave that up, she’d be so disappointed in me. We fought constantly about it. My dad never wanted this life for me, but he didn’t have much say from overseas.”

“Can you still be a Serpent, but step down until you figure things out? I’m not going to pretend to know how it all works, because I don’t, but there has to be a way, right?” Betty looked defeated. He wanted to make her stop hurting. “How did you learn to sign?” He changed the subject in hopes it would get her thinking about something else.

“You saw that?” The color drained from her face. 

“Hey, no. I thought it was beautiful. I don’t know what any of it meant, but I couldn’t look away.” Jughead admitted. “How’d you learn?” His tone was gentle, like the one you’d use to lure a scared kitten to safety.

“My aunt is hard of hearing. I originally learned it to communicate with her, but she moved across the country when I was younger. I kind of just fell in love with it. And--” Betty cut herself off.

“And?” Jughead raised his eyebrows expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

“It helps with this.” She opened her hands again, revealing her wounds. “Whenever I get anxious, ever since I can remember, I’ve done this. It was the only thing I could control when things were going haywire around me. I tried everything to keep it at bay, and from my parents. Nothing was helping, but learning sign language did. It gave me something else to do with my hands. So I kept learning, took a class at the rec center. The instructor told me the easiest way to learn more vocabulary was to learn songs, so I did and haven’t looked back.”

Betty had never revealed her love of sign language to anyone, not even her parents. They knew she had learned it for her aunt, but that was it. They had no idea Betty continued after she left. “I know it’s stupid, but--” 

“It is  _ not _ stupid. If it’s something you love, that makes it incredible,” Jughead interrupted before she could continue. He had learned, through his various research for AP psych, that when people apologize for what they’re passionate about, it means someone important to them belittled it, or them. 

“Don’t apologize for being passionate.” She hung her head, tears beginning to stream down her face again. He smirked to himself. “So this is what you like to do behind closed doors,” Jughead teased. Her head shot up, a smile on her face. 

Jughead then revealed his own sordid life story; how it wasn’t as picture perfect as everyone thought it to be. Yes, he was an honors student, slated to be valedictorian the following year, ran the paper on his own, worked at the library part time, tutored kids after hours. But his father was a raging alcoholic, his mother was barely around anymore, his little sister was closed off to everything and everyone. He didn’t want Betty to feel alone, and he thought maybe some insight into his life would help. He would crack jokes just to see her laugh and he decided in that time that he’d do anything to keep her smiling as long as she’d let him. He continued to make her laugh for the remainder of the afternoon. If he could do that, it meant she wasn’t crying another tear, at least not while he was there. 

After confessing his innermost secrets to Betty, he felt lighter, more confident. More willing to take a risk. So he cradled her face in his palms, steeling himself to do something incredibly impulsive. But before he got the chance, Betty lurched forward and pressed her lips to his. It took Jughead some time to realize what was happening, and she sensed his hesitation and pulled away. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Why?” he asked, pulling her back toward him. They kissed again, this time with more heat. Betty could feel the fire in her stomach growing more intense. When they pulled away from each other, breathless, there both wore smiles. Betty shifted away from him, checking the time. She groaned.

“What’s wrong?”

“I missed ‘leader training,’” she said mockingly. She rubbed her eyes, feeling a headache coming from the amount of crying she’d been doing. “I was supposed to be there at three.” Betty dropped her hands from her face unceremoniously, her palms slapping her thighs, almost like an exclamation point to her thoughts.

“Just tell them you stayed for tutoring. I can give you a note if you need one,” he chuckled sarcastically. She laughed. “Seriously though, whatever you need, whenever, just call me, okay?”

“Okay.” She kissed him again, softly, gathered her stuff, and walked out of the Blue and Gold. Jughead slumped back into the couch replaying the last few hours in his head.

_ What the-- _

_ ~ _

A few days had gone by and Betty hadn’t been at school. Jughead was beginning to get even more concerned than he had already been. His mind raced.  _ I hope she’s okay. God, I hope something didn’t happen to her. Did I do something wrong? _ He tried his hardest to not think about it, to stay focused on what he was working on, a task that became increasingly more difficult as the days dragged on. He checked his phone constantly to make sure he didn’t miss anything from her, but to no avail. She never called. Never even so much as sent a one-word text.

So one day after class, he clambered into his truck and made his way to the Southside. He had snuck into the principal’s office to find her address; if he was caught he would use the newspaper as a cover. Luckily, it didn’t come to that. When he pulled up to her house, a small place just outside of Sunnyside Trailer Park, he saw her motorcycle in the driveway, the one he’d seen her on before and after school, the one she leaned against sometimes during lunch while talking to her friends. He parked his truck and took a deep breath gathering up the folder of schoolwork he’d collected in her absence.

He knocked on the door and waited patiently for someone to answer; he could hear music from behind the closed door. Jughead was about to knock again when she answered the door. Her eyes were sunken, clothes lopsided and hair a wreck, but to Jughead, she still looked beautiful. Her eyes widened when she saw him standing there.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, a small hitch in her throat. He looked down at the folder of schoolwork.

“You’ve been out a few days. I was getting really worried about you.” His voice was sad. She ushered him inside and closed the door. The house was dark, all the curtains pulled shut, a solitary lamp emitting light from the corner. The soft, hauntingly sad music continued to play in the background; it wasn’t what he was expecting, maybe something more upbeat or aggressive as he’d witnessed her listening to weeks prior on the bleachers, but he honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. Betty Cooper was difficult to read; her soft insides, only recently revealed to him, did not match her hardened outside. 

A silence fell over them as he listened to the music; it was haunting and sad. “I… uh… brought this for you.” He lifted the folder with the schoolwork she’d missed over the last few days. “Are you okay?” Her smile was fake. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. “Don’t lie… please,” he whispered, taking a step closer. She exhaled as if she hadn’t taken a breath in days. 

“No,” she whimpered. She collapsed into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. He let her stay there for as long as she needed, although he couldn’t say how long exactly. His heart was broken, watching her crumble in front of him. He wished there was something he could do to take away even a fraction of her pain. No amount of  _ I’m sorry _ ’s or  _ it’s going to be okay _ ’s would make it better; he knew that. When her breathing began to even out, she pulled away from him, seeing her tears mirrored in his eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t call,” she said softly.

“Don’t apologize. Just tell me what’s going on.” Jughead smoothed circles over her bare shoulders, her cutoff shirt dropping from its proper perch. Betty didn’t respond. “But, if you don't want to,” he added, taking her cue of silence, “I’ll go.” He placed the folder on the coffee table and turned to leave. A gentle, unsteady hand stopped him as he approached the door. 

“Please don’t.”

The next thing Jughead knew, they were sitting on the couch, his hand lost in her messy blonde locks, his other entwined in hers. They sat like that for a long while, but Jughead would never complain about it. She took a series of deep breaths and moved her head from the safety of Jughead’s chest to look at him. 

“I talked to one of the older Serpents after I left the Blue and Gold the other day.” She took another deep breath. 

He wasn’t going to interrupt her; he knew she would continue when she was ready. 

“To see if there was a way… a way to step down.” She pushed farther back from him, his hands still tangled in her golden tresses. She winced in pain. “There was a way, so I did it.” She fidgeted uncomfortably next to him, slowly pulling away and curling into the other corner of the couch. She choked back a sob. 

Jughead’s heart throbbed in his chest. He reached out for her waist to bring her back to him. She blanched again. 

Betty breathed, slowly, as she lifted her t-shirt to reveal a series of healing bruises on her ribcage and stomach. Jughead’s eyes widened at the sight. “Retribution,” she said by way of explanation.” “I had to take a few hits from some of the older Serpent women to step down, but I didn’t think it would be this bad. But it’s done. The Fogartys are in control of the Southside Serpents until I decide to come back--if I decide to come back. I can take them back whenever I want, though.”

Jughead was at a loss for words. His hand rested on her ankle, not wanting to see her wince again. He knew there was nothing he could do but be there for her. She had no one left--her father killed overseas, her mother by her own hand, and the Serpents, while still her family, would be cautious around her going forward. 

She eventually moved back into his side, deciding the comfort of being curled into Jughead was worth the slight discomfort from her healing wounds. And it wasn’t like there was anything to be done about the uncertainty making her anxiety spike. No one has ever had to step down from Serpent leadership before. It was unprecedented, so she had no way of knowing how she would be treated moving forward. 

He lightly fingered over the purple and blue patches, trying to will them away by some source of magic that he would never cultivate. 

“So, what does it mean?” Jughead finally choked out.

“I’m still a Serpent,” Betty sighed. “Serpents never shed their skin,” she mocked, quoting one of the older Serpent’s mantras. “Besides, I’m marked, remember?” She breathed out a laugh. “They’re the only family I have left.” Jughead had forgotten about the tattoo he’d seen on the nape of her neck. “But I can leave, go to college like I wanted. If that’s what you’re asking.”

Jughead wanted desperately to change the subject. “What do you want to do? For college, I mean.” Betty saw what he was trying to do and welcomed the exchange.

“I want to go to RIT. I wanna put my hands to good use. They have a great scholarship program and with my academics, it shouldn’t be a problem.” Her voice sounded hopeful for the first time in a long time. 

“Well, color me shocked, Miss Cooper.” Jughead chuckled. “I applied there for early admission to their photojournalism BFA program.” Betty’s eyes widened. “So I hope that works out for you. Maybe I’ll see you around campus.” He smiled at her. 

She returned it, this time a real, honest to goodness smile. With that, her stomach growled. 

“Betty, when was the last time you ate?”

“What’s today?”

“That means not any time recently. Get dressed.” 

Betty looked at him, confused.

“Wha--” 

“We’re going to Pop’s. Unless you wanna go out in your pajamas. I don’t particularly care.” Jughead shrugged. “Either way, you’re beautiful.” He flushed, but didn’t regret what he’d said. He knew he’d already kissed her, but he needed her to know for sure just how enamoured he was with her.

“But… Jug.”

“Don’t fight me on this, you’ll lose. I promise. Let me have this one.” He winked at her. She got up, as quickly as she could considering the amount of pain she was in. She clutched her side, nearly limping to the stairs with Jughead’s hand on the small of her back for guidance. Once they were to the stairs, Betty used the hand rail to support her to take some of the pressure off and made her way into the first room at the top of the stairs. Jughead could hear her whimpering, and soon she poked her head out from behind the door.

“Hey, Juggie?” she called, pouting. 

He felt slightly guilty that the new nickname made his heart skip a beat, or nine, when she was in pain. He hummed in response. 

“Can you help me?” Jughead stood frozen in place. He ran his hand over his face, attempting to grip the reality of the situation, and walked up the stairs. He knocked quietly and pushed the door open. Betty was sitting on her bed, in tears again. He sat next to her, wiping the tears from her eyes. “It hurts.”

“Tell me what you need me to do.” Jughead’s breathing was staggered at best. He didn’t think the first time he’d see Betty Cooper without clothing would be because she was in too much pain to take her shirt off (if he was ever going to see that at all). They stood up, Jughead standing behind her, a perfect gentleman. 

She lifted her arms gently, but not to their fullest extent. He grabbed the material at her torso and lifted straight up. From his view, he could count three additional bruises he hadn’t seen in the living room. He smoothed his hands over them, and by the sudden intake of breath, he could tell she didn’t know they were there, either. He traced over the freckles he revealed, wanting to know what picture they held inside them. Jughead placed a light kiss on her bare shoulder. 

She hadn’t been wearing a bra, he assumed it was too painful for her. She crossed her arms over her chest and went to the dresser on the other side of the room, careful not to turn around. She pulled out a zip-front sports bra, black leggings, and an oversized t-shirt. She handed him the bra, indicating she needed his assistance yet again. He fed her arms through the holes and she zipped the front. She was able to make her way into the t-shirt without too much pain or help from Jughead, but he stood there, just in case.

She loosened the drawstring on her pants and let them fall into a pile around her ankles before stepping out of them. She sat on the edge of her bed. Jughead gathered the material of the leggings in his hands and slipped it over her feet, slowing dragging it over her legs, letting his fingertips trail lightly across her skin as he did. When he got to her thighs, he let go, allowing her to do it on her own. She smiled at him. 

No one had ever been gentle with her, as far back as she could remember. Being the daughter of the Serpent Queen, Alice Cooper, she was the exception, it seemed. No one ever handled her with care; they simply primed her for the life that her mother lead. It was something Betty would never be used to.

She grabbed a flannel from her closet and tied it around her waist, cinching the t-shirt in to show off her curves. She may be in pain, but there was a certain aesthetic she needed to maintain in the public eye. She looked in her vanity mirror and saw the mess that was her hair. She sat down carefully and lifted the brush to her head. Jughead saw the pain in her reflection and promptly took the brush from her hand and did the work for her. He was tender with that, too. He slowly brushed through her golden mane, making his way through the tangles. He parted her hair down the middle and created two french braids.

“How’d you learn how to do that?” Betty asked, watching as he braided. 

“I have a little sister. My parents aren’t around a lot, so I help her out--when she lets me.” He shrugged and secured the braids with two small elastic bands from her vanity, finishing with a kiss to the crown of her head. “Beautiful.” He smiled at her through the mirror. She applied a small amount of mascara and eyeliner, merely so she didn’t look so sunken or like she had been crying for three days. He offered her his arm and they made their way down the stairs. He helped her into her boots and they were off to Pop’s in his truck. 

“You’re not afraid to be out with me?” Betty asked him on the way to Pop’s.

“No, should I be?”

“What about your Northside friends? I’m sure they’ll have something to say about it.”

“I’m sure the Serpents will have something to say about  _ you _ being out with  _ me. _ ”

They both chuckled lightly as they pulled into Pop’s. It was just after dark, around dinner time, so the diner was starting to fill. He opened the door for her and helped her out of the truck. As soon as she was back out in public, her act returned  like it was never gone, as if she had never been hurt in her life. The change was swift and it was not lost on Jughead. He ushered her into the diner, allowing her to enter first. She winked at him. He could still see the pain in her eyes. Now that he’d seen her true colors, he could never unsee them.

They sat in a corner booth, away from the few families that were enjoying their meals. The waitress came by and gave the pair a crooked look. She cocked an eyebrow up at Jughead, slightly sneering at the presence of a Serpent. Jughead didn’t entertain the look with a response. 

“Hey, Heidi. I’ll take my usual, and whatever the lady wants.” Jughead winked at Betty.

“I don’t see a lady,” Heidi muttered under her breath as she wrote down Jughead’s standard order. “What’ll it be?” she asked, plastering a fake smile on and turning toward Betty.

“My usual,” she raised a cocky eyebrow at Heidi, a smirk playing on the corner of her lips. Heidi rolled her eyes and walked away.

“So, I take it she doesn’t like you much?” Jughead laughed.

“It comes with the territory, I guess.” Betty simply shrugged. They sat and made idle small talk, not wanting to face anything nearly as heavy as their previous conversations had been in recent days. Whether Jughead or Betty wanted to admit it, they’d revealed more about themselves to each other than they had to anyone else before, not to the Serpents, not to Archie or Veronica. 

The bell of the door chimed, causing Betty to look up to see Fangs and Joaquin walking in. They spotted her and began to make their way toward the booth.

“Coop!” Joaquin called out. “Where you been, girl?” He took the seat next to Betty, Fangs sliding in next to Jughead.

“I’ve been around,” she laughed. “What’re you guys doin’ here?” She changed the subject quickly, not wanting to go into details. The look of Fang’s face told Betty he didn’t know anything that had occurred. His family would be the ones to take over the Serpents now that she had stepped down.

“We’re on a run to Centerville.” Joaquin glanced over at Jughead, who sat there silently, staring into his lap. “Jones, right?” He nodded in response, but he wanted no part of their Serpent conversation. It wasn’t his place to know about their dealings. “Figured we’d stop for some grub first, it’s a long drive. You gonna join us, Coop?” he asked, nudging her ribs. Betty’s jaw clenched, trying not to outwardly show her pain.

“Not tonight, boys. I’m otherwise engaged,” she said, grazing Jughead’s leg underneath the table. She gave him a quick wink, and his cheeks were suddenly on fire with the innuendo. She chuckled to herself. Fangs looked between the two of them and smirked slightly.

“Aren’t you tired of corrupting the Northside, Coop?” Jughead’s eyes furrowed together, but Betty’s softened as their gazes met.

“Never,” she spat back at Fangs, earning a laugh from both boys.

“That’s our girl,” Fangs smiled. With that, the two Serpents made their way back to the door, grabbing their food from Heidi. 

“Don’t worry about them, Jug. They’re harmless. Well, mostly. I grew up with them, and it was like having two annoying brothers.” 

Jughead simply nodded. He wasn’t sure of how to take the entire interaction. When Betty was with her Serpent family, it wasn’t the same Betty he held as she cried. He could see the internal struggle--who she was and who they wanted her to be. Before long, their food arrived.

Halfway through his burger, Jughead spoke. “They don’t know any of this, do they?” Betty shook her head. “But I do?” She nodded, chewing slowly to avoid having to speak. “Why me? Not that I’m complaining. It’s just, if you’ve known them your whole life, and you’ve only known me for a few months--”

“You’re different.” She reached her hand across the table and laid them on top of his.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you thought of it!
> 
> As always, you can find me on the tumbles @shrugheadjonesthethird


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